


open up your heart

by JuniperTrees



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Hogwarts Mystery
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Growing Up Together, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-07-08 19:04:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19874566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuniperTrees/pseuds/JuniperTrees
Summary: Most love is conditional. There's however, never was and never will be.Chiara and Jae throughout the years.





	1. first

**Author's Note:**

> can you believe the lack of fanfiction for these two???
> 
> oUtRaGeOUS
> 
> not beta-ed!

  1. **meeting**



Chiara is _late_. Curfew is 10 PM, and Chiara had stupidly, stupidly gotten lost somewhere in the West Tower. She wasn’t at orientation with the other first years because of the full moon, but Dumbledore had been kind enough to let it go and given her a late welcome.

She’ll admit that sitting on a stool in Dumbledore’s office, while being scrutinized by various professors was not the most comfortable situation. Especially when the sorting hat was too big on her head. Professor Sprout had been very understanding when she’d told Chiara about her being sorted into Hufflepuff and had showed her around the castle.

It’s just Chiara’s fault that she’d forgotten where her common room is, and now there are three minutes till curfew and she’s going to get into trouble on her first day.

Breathing hard, she stumbles across the Grand Staircase and frantically looks for someone who can maybe help her. She hadn’t wanted to ask anyone before, but now she’s desperate.

There’s a boy loitering around in a yellow hoodie. A good color, meaning he’s in Chiara’s house.

“Excuse me?” She asks. The boy turns to her and lazily grins. “Do you know where the Hufflepuff common room is?”

“Dungeons.” He says before turning back to a talking portrait next to him. He gives her an inquisitive look when he realizes that Chiara is still standing there.

Chiara is red in the face, and now she’s _definitely_ past curfew. “It’s my first day here; I don’t where anything is.” Her voice is spikes and she swallows, feeling close to crying.

“It’s okay. I’ll show you.” The boy says, looking alarmed. “See you Sir Cadogan.” He waves at the portrait before starting down the stairs.

“Farewell, Mr. Kim!” The portrait waves back.

Chiara doesn’t even have to run to catch up. The boy is walking slowly, and Chiara is looking around nervously, wondering why he isn’t worried about being caught. He’s too young to be a prefect.

They walk in silence, Chiara wiping her hands on her robe. “Um, Mr. Kim,” he glances at her bemusedly, “thank you.”

“You can just call me Jae.” He says, sounding like he’s holding back a laugh. “Why’s it your first day?”

The two of them descend another set of stairs, and Chiara remains silent because she doesn’t know what to say.

Jae glances at her again before shrugging. “Keep your secrets then.” He stops at a door and sweeps his hands in a grand gesture. “Here we are.”

Chiara sighs in relief. She might be late, but at the least she remembers the entrance password. She’s halfway through the door when she notices that Jae isn’t following her. She pauses, “aren’t you coming?” she asks tentatively.

Jae raises an eyebrow, the edges of his mouth pulling into a smile. “Why would I?” He asks, and Chiara is starting to get really sick of seeming like an idiot.

She looks pointedly at his yellow hoodie and he follows her line of sight. “Oh.” He says before he’s laughing, showing all his teeth. “No, I’m a Gryffindor. I just like yellow.” He shakes his foot, and only then does Chiara notice the red converse he’s wearing.

Chiara flushes a dark red. How was she supposed to know? He was wearing her house colors. Thankfully, Jae saves her any further embarrassment. “Bye!” He winks, and waves cheerfully as he jogs back towards the stairs.

She stands there, embarrassed, before shutting the door.

She’s way past curfew and now that she thinks about it, Jae must be too. The Gryffindor common room is all the way across the castle.

  1. **potions**



Jae is whistling, carrying his books as he heads to potions. He’s actually early today. Snape had taken thirty house points his first week and Angelica had gone completely bonkers when she’d heard. She’d even created a house point chart specifically for Jae (his current tally is at a solid negative twenty-eight).

Snape gives him the stink-eye when he enters, still whistling.

“Quiet, Kim.” He snaps.

Jae stops whistling, spotting the girl from last night, the lost Hufflepuff girl, and slides in next to her.

“H’lo.” he says amiably, thinking that he should really ask for a name.

She flinches back, glancing nervously at Snape. “Did you get in trouble yesterday?” She whispers.

“No. Why?”

“You were past curfew.” She says as if it’s the worst thing in the world. She gives him an anxious look when he laughs.

“ _Quiet_ , Kim.” Snape snarls again.

Jae shifts in his seat before turning to the girl. “Hey, what’s your name?” He says a little more quietly.

“Chiara.” Her gaze flits to Snape again.

Jae decides to leave her alone when she doesn’t elaborate and turns to his roommate instead.

For the better part, the class goes smoothly. To Jae’s surprise, Chiara keeps up, despite missing a week of class.

Snape is finishing his lecture on handling their equipment carefully, just as Chiara bumps into her cauldron, knocking two vials down. There’s a resounding clatter as they shatter on the floor.

Snape’s head snaps towards her direction, and Jae is briefly relieved that his wrathful look isn’t directed at him. At least, he is before he sees the look on Chiara’s face.

She’s ghostly pale, knuckles white as she stares at the shattered glass.

“Miss Lobosca,” Snape drawls, “already causing trouble, I see.”

Chiara doesn’t even look up, still staring at her feet, hands starting to shake. Her face has gone impossibly paler.

Jae can already hear Angelica yelling at him for losing house points _again,_ but he’s standing up and stepping forward without a second thought.

“Sorry, Prof,” Snape’s eye twitches at the nickname, “clumsy me.” Next to him, Chiara jerks her head to look at him, but Jae stares steadily at Snape.

Snape gaze flickers to Chiara for a moment, mouth curling into a sneer. “15 points from Gryffindor for disrupting class,” Jae can hear his roommate groan, “and a week’s detention for being disrespectful.”

Chiara inhales sharply next to him, but Jae just shrugs and sits back down.

Snape turns to the rest of the class, still looking very malevolent. “Class dismissed.”

His roommate grabs him by the wrist as they’re leaving, whispering harshly. “What were you thinking? Angelica’s going to _kill_ you.”

Jae laughs, turning his head slightly to watch Chiara leave. She’s staring at the ground, refusing to meet anyone’s eye. “I’m always up for helping a cute girl.” He says, loudly enough that she must hear, but he’s already turned the corner before she can react.

  1. **corridor**



The hallway is quiet as Chiara walks to charms. There are some students coming down the corridor but they don’t pay her any attention. Chiara keeps her head low just in case they do.

She’s been adamantly avoiding speaking to anyone since yesterday. Penny, her roommate, had picked up on her bad mood but hadn’t mentioned anything. She had, however, brought her something from breakfast.

Everyone in Hufflepuff has been really nice to her. Chiara just hopes she won’t slip up. She can hardly believe Dumbledore let her enroll while knowing she was werewolf. He’d told her not to attract any trouble, and Chiara had already messed up twice.

She cringes to herself when she thinks about potions class. Snape had been so scary and Jae—Jae had been so kind. Anyone with a working head could tell that none of yesterday was his fault, but he’d taken the blame for her regardless.

Guilt boils in her gut when she thinks about his week of detention. It should have been hers.

She’s ambling blindly at this point, hardly paying attention to the faces passing her when she’s abruptly jerked backwards by her robes.

She turns to see Jae.

“Hey,” he says, “where you headed?”

“I’m sorry.” Chiara blurts without thinking, voice squeaky. She’d wanted to apologize yesterday but hadn’t found the nerve.

Jae furrows his eyebrows. “For yesterday? Don’t think too much about it. I get detention all the time.” He says reassuringly.

Chiara squeezes her books to her chest, unable to look him in the eye. “You got house points taken away,” when he doesn’t seem fazed, she adds quietly, “they should’ve been mine.”

Jae snorts. “Snape would’ve taken ten points from you at most. He just really hates me.” He looks thoughtful. “I can’t really blame him.”

It doesn’t make her feel much better, but she’s glad that Jae isn’t upset with her. “Was your prefect mad?” She asks, and Jae brightens.

“ _So_ mad. I’ve never seen her face that shade of red before.” He stops grinning when he sees Chiara’s expression. “But don’t worry, she’s used to me losing house points.” He adds hastily.

“How many house points have you lost?”

It’s hard not to giggle when Jae says “fifty-seven” like he’s broken a record.

She stops outside the charm’s classroom, smiling now. Jae is so easy to talk to. “Thanks for helping me.” She says.

Jae is smiling back at her. “You’re welco—” he starts to say, but then he’s pulled into the classroom by a swarm of Gryffindor kids and Chiara is left standing alone.

  1. **grounds**



Jae doesn’t tend to pay attention to his classmate’s, but he does notice Chiara quite a lot. She’s elusive and prefers to stay alone. She talks to a few girls from Hufflepuff, but aside from that, she doesn’t seem very sociable.

He never sees her around the castle or in the courtyard. He poked his head into the library once, just to see if she might be there, but he’d been kicked out before he could make sure.

He knows it isn’t really his business to meddle in her life, and she doesn’t seem like she likes Jae’s company very much. He sat with her during charms once, and she’d hardly talked to him. She does laugh when he makes trouble, though it’s very discreet.

He attempted to make conversation the first few classes they shared—they have a lot—but she gives him quick, meatless answers. He’d stopped trying after that. It’s not as if he’s lacking friends.

He does feel bad when he sees her walking down the hallways alone. She’s nice but shy, and although he doesn’t have any trouble talking to people, it seems like she does.

Jae is walking on the training grounds, bored out of his mind. Classes had finished, and dinner had ended. Charlie had run off to study, and Ben never wanted to do anything fun. He was good at gobstones, Jae will admit, but there’s a limit to how many times he can play that game in a day.

He pauses when he hears noise coming from the archway. He can hear the quidditch players yelling from afar, and he turns to see what the other noise is.

He’s startled to see Chiara, playing with what looks like wolf pup. She jerks back when she sees him and scoops the puppy into her arms.

There’s an awkward silence as they stare at each other.

“Borf?” whines the puppy, sound muffled by Chiara’s shirt.

Jae puts his hands in his pockets, rocking on his heels. “So, what you got there?” He asks as casually as possible.

Chiara looks around nervously. “Nothing.” She says very suspiciously. “Just my pet.”

“Borf!” The puppy barks, wriggling his way out of her grasp.

Jae arches an eyebrow as it rolls around in the grass, blinking up at him. “I’m pretty sure wolves aren’t allowed as pets.”

Chiara looks pained. “He’s a werewolf pup from the Forbidden Forest. I play with him sometimes.” She picks it up again. “Please don’t tell anyone.” She adds timidly.

He doesn’t say anything, watching as Chiara gets increasingly nervous, before he sits down next to her. “What’s his name?”

She seems surprised, but doesn’t comment. “Borf.”

Borf barks again before wriggling his way into Jae’s lap, pawing at his hoodie. Jae isn’t a big fan of dogs or anything that sheds, but he grimaces and puts up with it when Borf licks his face.

“Where’ve you been keeping him?” He asks as Borf worms his way under his shirt.

Chiara shifts so she’s sitting closer to him. “He just comes and goes. I can’t control—Borf!” She scolds, but it comes out more as a laugh. Borf has his head poked out next to Jae’s—he’s sure it must look ridiculous.

“I’m sorry—” She reaches to pull him away, but Jae stops her.

“It’s okay. I like dogs.” He tells her, even though he really doesn’t.

She stops apologizing after that, and Jae gets too preoccupied with actually talking to Chiara to realize that it’s getting late. Her favorite fruit is grapes. She likes her meat rare, and actually prefers cats to dogs, but still likes dogs.

At some point, Borf gets bored with the lack of attention and runs off with a final lick, disappearing. Jae is surprised when Chiara doesn’t leave with him.

He gets up when it’s nearly curfew, patting down his jeans. Chiara seems nervous, as if she wants to say something but doesn’t have the nerve to. She’s easy to read, one of the things Jae likes about her.

“I’m sorry.” She blurts out.

Jae scrunches his nose. “What do you have to be sorry about?”

“I haven’t been very friendly.” She says, wringing her hands. “It’s just, this is all new, and I’m not very good at making friends. And you’ve been so nice to me—”

Jae interrupts her before she can get really worked up. “I’ll meet you here tomorrow?”

Chiara blinks, surprise evident on her face. Jae briefly contemplates whether or not he was too forward, but then her face breaks into a dazzling smile.

“I—okay.” She’s flushing, smiling wide.

“Okay.” Jae nods, before he walks her back to her common room. When he gets back to his dormitory, all he can think about is making her smile again.


	2. second

  1. **Bertie’s**



Chiara is organizing her books on her bed when Penny comes in.

“Jae’s outside.” She says breezily.

Chiara has to force herself to keep a straight face. “Why?” She asks, trying to sound casual, but from the look Penny gives her, Chiara might as well have _EXCITED_ written in quill ink on her forehead.

“I’m not sure. Why don’t you go and find out?”

Chiara pulls on her robes before she heads downstairs. Jae is whistling, hands in his jean pockets when she opens the common room door.

“Hey.” He says when he sees her. He bends over to pick up some books on the ground. “I brought your work from the classes you missed.” She didn’t expect Jae to notice her absence in class—he hardly pays attention to anything—and her chest suddenly feels warm.

She’s forced to miss class every month for her changing, and Tonks and Penny have been the only ones to comment on it. Even then, it’s only in passing conversation.

Chiara takes the books as Jae fishes something out of his pocket. She gives him a confused look at the small carton he procures. “Bertie’s every flavor beans,” he tells her with an impish look in his eyes.

She can tell the look means trouble, but she takes the carton anyways.

Jae nods at the package, “I figured we could share them while you catch up on your work.” He pauses, uncharacteristically sheepish for a moment, “I mean, if you want to.”

Chiara tries not to grin too wide but fails miserably. To hide her excitement, she turns and starts walking fast. “Come on, let’s go to the courtyard.” She can hear Jae running after to catch up.

She doesn’t end up getting much work done, and Jae definitely isn’t much help. He pops a jelly bean into his mouth and spits it out almost immediately, hacking ‘ _earthworm’_ as Chiara laughs and laughs and laughs.

They get yelled at by the intimidating Slytherin prefect when Jae spits a dirt flavored bean onto his robes. Chiara is giggling too hard to defend herself while Jae tries to keep a straight face.

She doesn’t know if she misses all the bad flavors by luck, or if it’s because Jae is taking all the nasty tasting ones for himself. Nevertheless, it’s the most fun she’s had doing work, even if she barely touches her quill.

They end up finishing the whole carton.

  1. **house pride**



“Jae,” Chiara hisses when she sees what he’s wearing. “what are you doing?”

They’re standing in the Hufflepuff stands, waiting for the final quidditch match to commence. It’s Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor. Jae should be standing with his house, but he can’t really be bothered.

He’s wearing his yellow hoodie, blending in impeccably with the sea of yellow. Chiara is wearing her robes and a yellow ribbon in her hair, a stark contrast to the white pigment.

“I’m supporting your house.” Jae winks.

Chiara rolls her eyes but she’s smiling. “You should be in the Gryffindor stands.” She tells him over the cacophony as the players walk onto the quidditch pitch.

Jae shrugs. “Nobody will notice.” He’s never been that interested in quidditch, but Chiara had said that she was looking forward to the last game and he’d decided to tag along.

There’s an uproar as the players kick off the ground. Charlie whips by the Hufflepuff stand and catches Jae’s eye, scrunching his nose before zipping off.

The Hufflepuff section lets up a cheer when they score, Chiara hollering next to him. There’s another loud cheer as Gryffindor scores this time, and Jae gets a couple of dirty looks when he’s the only one shouting encouragement in the Hufflepuff section.

Chiara flushes a bright red even though she’s not the one being scrutinized. “Jae,” she implores him, but there’s no real intent in her tone.

Penny shoulders her way over to the two of them. “Fancy seeing you here, Jae.” She says, giving him a knowing look that he chooses to ignore.

He hushes her jokingly. “I’m paying attention to the game.” He directs his attention back to the grounds before catching sight of McGonagall. “Blimey.” He curses, ducking his head behind Chiara.

Chiara follows his line of sight. “I told you to stand with Gryffindor,” she scolds, seemingly disapproving, but she shifts to cover him.

Penny rolls her eyes next to the two of them but doesn’t comment. Jae ends up hiding for most of the game, Chiara offering periodic commentary when something interesting happens.

Hufflepuff ends up winning, but the way Chiara beams at him afterwards is an entirely different victory in itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> second year chae(???? jiara????) is a little shorter, but hoo boy year three will be longer ;)


	3. third

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> had to search up whether tampons existed in the wizarding world, was not fun because every single reddit thread called me an idiot

  1. **common room**



The fat lady is scowling when Chiara makes her way to the Gryffindor common room. It’s not a good sign, especially because she’ll need to convince her to get Jae. He’d been missing at the Welcoming Feast and Chiara isn’t worried, but still rather curious what he was up to.

“Hello,” she says timidly, flinching when the fat lady fixes her with a look.

“What do you need?” She scowls, before going back to brooding. “No one ever asks what I need, or how my day is going,” Chiara hears her mutter under her breath.

“I’m—I’m looking for Jae.” She stammers, but the fat lady acts as if she never heard her.

She sees Charlie Weasley walking down the corridor and flags him down. “Charlie, could you—could you get Jae?”

Charlie huffs out an amused laugh. “Sure, if he can get up.” At Chiara’s horrified expression, he quickly explains, “he ate himself into a food coma.”

The fat lady swings open as Charlie enters, and Chiara stands there waiting, wondering how Jae managed to eat when he wasn’t at the feast.

She stands there for a few minutes before Jae emerges, looking very groggy.

“Jae!” She exclaims and he gives her a sluggish smile. “Why weren’t you at the feast?”

“I’zza secret.” He slurs, leaning against the wall. “H’lo, Matilda.” He says to the fat lady and her expression brightens considerably. “How was your vacation?”

The fat lady starts talking, obviously flattered that Jae asked. Chiara glances between the two and Jae shrugs, lowering his voice to a whisper. “She lets me get away with late curfew ‘cause I’m one of the few people who talk to her.”

The fat lady is still talking and doesn’t seem to be paying much attention so Chiara leans towards Jae and whispers, “where did you eat?”

Jae’s mouth twitches in the semblance of a smile. “Secret.” He says again before yawning. “Did you need anything?”

Chiara shakes her head. “No, I was just wondering where you were.”

Jae sweeps his arms in a grand gesture. “Right here,” he says, punctuating the statement with another yawn. “I think I’m gonna turn in early.” He turns to leave.

“Wait! What classes are you taking this year?” She asks, suddenly desperate for his company. They’d sent each other owls over the summer yes, but hadn’t talked face to face at all. She was honestly hoping he’d be happier to see her.

He pats her clumsily on the shoulder. “I’ll tell you tomorrow. Bye Chiara, Matilda.” He nods at the fat lady and she swings open, giving Jae a cheerful wave.

Chiara sighs once he’s disappeared through the portrait but starts back to her dorms. She’s sure Jae will tell her tomorrow; he’s never broken any of their promises yet.

  1. **library**



Jae enters the library, looking for Chiara, and he finds her studying quietly at one of the tables.

Almost immediately, Madam Pince’s eyes focus on him, narrowing suspiciously. He grins at her innocently before pulling a chair up next to Chiara.

She’s focused enough that she doesn’t notice him when he sits and he glances at what she’s reading, “ _Lupine Lawlessness: Why Lycanthropes Don’t Deserve to Live_.” He reads out loud, and Chiara slams the book closed so fast Jae jerks back.

“ _Shhhh!_ ” Madam Pince goes across the room.

“Jae!” Chiara exclaims in a muted whisper. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!” Jae just stares at her, bewildered.

“What’re you reading about werewolves for?” He asks. He pretends to not notice the panicked look that flits across her face and waits for her answer instead.

Chiara glances around the library nervously, “Snape was talking to me about Wolfsbane Potion, and he told me to read about werewolves.”

Jae scrunches his face together. “What were you talking to _Snape_ about werewolves for?”

Chiara is now staring at her hands, a habit she resorts to whenever she’s hiding something. “Extra credit.” She mutters, but Jae knows her well enough to tell that she’s lying. She looks uncomfortable though, so he doesn’t bring it up.

“Is Snape making Wolfsbane potion?” He asks nonchalantly enough, hoping that Chiara will let something slip.

Her eyes are wary, however, when she answers. “Yes, but he told me he was low on wolfsbane.”

Jae looks at her carefully, before saying: “I can get some.”

Chiara finally looks at him. “You can? How?”

Jae shrugs, pulling a fizzing whizbee out of his pocket. “Secret.” He says as the wrapper crinkles.

Madam Pince is behind him in an instant. “Bloody hell.” Jae curses as she snatches the package out of his hand.

“What are you doing?” She screeches, livid. “Out— _out!_ ”

Jae gets up, rolling his eyes. It isn’t the first time he’s eaten in the library, but Pince has the same reaction each and every time. “I’m going—”

“ _OUT!”_

“— _I’m going_.” He’s starting towards the door when Madam Pince swoops on Chiara.

“You too. Out!” She snaps and Chiara’s face goes pale.

Jae stops walking and scowls. “Hey, she didn’t do anything.” He stares back at Pince when she glares at him. When she doesn’t seem convinced, he keeps talking, “I was the one who brought the food.” He nods towards Chiara. “She didn’t do anything wrong.”

Madam Pince’s face pinches together angrily, but she leaves Chiara alone to herd Jae towards the library door’s instead. “ _No food in my library_.” She hisses.

Jae has just enough time to turn around and wink at Chiara before the door slams in his face.

  1. **self-care**



Chiara comes back from her changing, exhausted and tired from being a wolf. Sometimes, she wonders what would happen if she’d never been turned, if she could just be a normal witch.

And then sometimes, there are darker thoughts. Ones where she not only doesn’t exist as a werewolf, but where she doesn’t exist at all.

Penny is just leaving when she enters the common room. She doesn’t ask questions, just gestures to a package on Chiara’s bed. “Jae left something for you.”

She doesn’t mention anything about Chiara’s absence as she walks out the door. It’s one of the reasons why Chiara likes her so much. Penny might know everything, but she still knows when not to pry.

Her heart swells when she picks up the package that Jae left for her. There’s even a card, _Chiara_ written on it with his scratchy handwriting.

She turns it over.

_Asked Madam Pomfrey where you were and she said you were gone for medical purposes. ????? Don’t know what that means. Asked Penny, told me something about time of the month. Almost got kicked out of the Hospital Wing when I asked._

Chiara laughs. That’s exactly the kind of thing Jae would do.

_Tonks made some joke I didn’t understand (I didn’t want to so I didn’t ask). Angelica was a little more helpful. She told me to get you these. Hope you feel better._

_Jae ;)_

Chiara is smiling at the haphazard wrapping before she carefully peels back the tape and sets it aside. She might bring it with her for her next changing, to lift her spirits a little.

She goes bright red when she sees what’s inside. There’s a box of tampons and Chiara is laughing again, thinking of Jae buying tampons. She can only imagine how disastrous that was.

The package is still heavy, however, so she turns it around and dumps the rest of the contents onto the bed.

Chiara’s eyes widen at the assortment of chocolate that falls onto her mattress. There are chocolate wands, frogs, eclairs, eggs, and even chocolate from Honeydukes. Chiara has no idea how Jae could’ve gotten it. Jae had his Hogsmeade privileges revoked when Professor McGonagall caught him unleashing fanged frisbees in the courtyard with Tonks and Tulip. He’d been the only one to get in trouble because he’d taken the blame for all three of them, claiming that the frisbees were his.

It was a stupid decision, but he’d said that he didn’t need permission to go to Hogsmeade to still go to Hogsmeade. Chiara suspects what he means, but she isn’t going to dig any further.

She’d been mad at first because he’d promised they’d spend their first Hogsmeade trip together. It was the only time he’d ever broken one of his promises. She couldn’t stay angry when he said he’d try smuggling his way in. As much as Chiara wanted him to, she didn’t want him getting into even more trouble.

Sweeping most of the chocolate into her arms, Chiara rises and decides to find him. Chocolate tastes best when shared, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS DID YOU SEE THOSE TwO TOGETHER IN DIVINATION


	4. fourth

  1. **great hall**



Jae is whistling to himself as everyone gathers in the Great Hall. He’s making his way over to the Gryffindor table when Chiara bumps into him, looking extremely frazzled.

“Chiara!” He greets, but she just gives him a nervous look.

“I lost my robes.” She says, wringing her hands together.

Jae huffs even though he isn’t really angry. “Nice to see you too.”

Chiara doesn’t laugh, which means she’s actually stressed about this. “ _Jae_ , I’m serious. We have a quidditch match tomorrow and I looked all over the dorms _and_ the common room. I even got Penny and Tonks to help and they couldn’t find it either and you know Penny, she’s especially good at finding things—”

Jae puts his hand up, beckoning her to slow down but Chiara keeps going.

“—My prefect is going to kill me if I’m not wearing house colors, she’s always telling us how important house pride is and I don’t own anything else yellow—what are you doing?”

Jae grunts as he pulls his yellow hoodie off, tugging his shirt down before offering the hoodie to Chiara. “Here. Something yellow.” He says.

Chiara, suddenly, is speechless. “Oh. Well—you don’t have to—” she starts sheepishly but Jae cuts her off.

“Wouldn’t want your prefect to kill you.”

She still looks unsure, but she’s taking it hesitantly. “It’s your favorite hoodie,” she tells him, as if he didn’t know.

Jae shrugs. “I don’t mind.” He glances at the quickly crowding Gryffindor table and shoulders past Chiara. “Now if you’ll excuse me.”

His roommate gives him a strange look when he sits down. “That’s your favorite hoodie.” He tells him.

Jae rolls his eyes because he _knows_. “Thanks for letting me know.”

  1. **detention**



“Jae!”

Chiara bursts through the doors of the kitchen, feeling stricken and confused. Jae is busy peeling potatoes, hunched over a large dustbin in the back. He looks up, bewildered, when Chiara calls his name.

He’s raising his hand up in greeting, still holding a potato peeler, when Chiara cuts him off.

“You got detention again? What for?” She demands, confused and upset, but mostly upset that Jae hadn’t told her.

“Chiara—” Jae tries to appease her, but Chiara won’t listen.

“You’re lucky Dumbledore didn’t give you worse!” She’s breathing hard, flushed all the way to the hairline as Jae stares at her.

When he’s sure she’s done with her tirade, he starts talking. “He caught me trying to sell,” he glances at Chiara, “er, contraband to one of the second years, so, I got a year-long detention.”

She sits down, all the fight out of her. “Where’d you even get them?” She asks. She knows Jae has his own secrets, that he’s done shady things, she just expected him to trust her with it.

“Diagon alley. Well, if it makes you feel better, Dumbledore confiscated all of them.”

They sit in silence as the house elves bumble around them. Jae starts peeling the potatoes again.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” She asks, because some idea would have been better than none.

Jae pauses. “You hate it when I talk about smuggling things.”

“No,” she corrects him, “I hate when you smuggle things _illegally_ and _dangerously_. But I still want you to tell me.”

The silence descends again, and it’s the first time Jae doesn’t say something to fill it. Wordlessly, he reaches into his hoodie and pulls something out, making sure no one’s looking, before handing it to Chiara.

She looks at the grey pouch, stuffed with something she doesn’t know.

Jae answers her question before she can ask. “It’s wolfsbane.” He whispers. “Dumbledore took basically everything, but he left me with that.”

Chiara’s vision tunnels, and she closes her hand around the wolfsbane. There’s no way he knows, she hasn’t told him that she’s a werewolf.

“Because you mentioned needing it once. For potions.” Jae explains, and Chiara relaxes.

She stares at the pouch, so unassuming, then looks to Jae, who seems worried. She gestures towards the potato peeler in his hand. “Is there another one of those? Or…”

He blinks, before handing her his and gets up to grab another one before sitting back down. They work together while murmuring quietly, and this time, Jae tells her everything about his sidejob.

****

  1. **celestial**



Jae stands outside of Chiara’s care of magical creature’s class, waiting for Professor Kettleburn to release the students. When he and Chiara been choosing what classes they wanted to take, Chiara had been adamant about it.

 _Puffskeins, Jae,_ she’d told him, eyes bright. Jae had opted to take defense against dark arts that hour, but they still shared multiple classes together.

Chiara is talking to another Hufflepuff girl as they’re dismissed, but she brightens when she sees Jae and heads over to him, waving goodbye to her friend.

They walk to charms together, Chiara telling him about the kneazle Kettleburn had brought into class. He waits for her to finish before he tells her what he’s being meaning to.

“You hear about the Celestial ball?” He asks, feeling uncharacteristically nervous.

Chiara stops smiling, but she nods. “Penny’s in charge of decorations.”

Jae shakes off his nerves and looks her in the eye. “Would you like to go with me?”

He knows the answer is no when Chiara’s face falls, guilty and surprised and regretful all at once.

“I can’t.” She says after a beat of silence. They’ve both stopped walking, and a group of sixth years have to part around them, grumbling with annoyance.

Jae tells himself that it’s fine even though he’s a little put off by the rejection. Maybe he’d been coming on too strong, maybe he’d been reading the signs wrong. “That’s okay,” he turns around, intent on acting like it never happened because he knows if he doesn’t, Chiara will stay up thinking about it for _weeks_.

“No, Jae.” Chiara grabs him the sleeve, stopping him. “I can’t.” Her voice cracks and Jae turns to look at her. She looks miserable, and Jae has to stifle a snort at the irony of it. He’s the one getting rejected here.

“I get it,” he tells her, “it’s okay. I’m not upset.”

Chiara shakes her head and her eyes go a little red, the way they do whenever she’s about to cry. Jae’s got a hand on her shoulder in an instant. He can handle Chiara crying, but it doesn’t mean he likes to. “I want to go with you but—I’m not going at all.” She says, voice wavering.

Jae doesn’t say anything, processing it. He doesn’t ask why she can’t go either because she always lies about her disappearances. He figured over the years that he could probably find out if he snooped enough, but it seems important to her, and she’ll probably tell him one day. He’s not the nosy type anyways.

“Okay.” He says after a minute. “Come on.” He pats her on the shoulder, trying to be comforting, and she smiles at him gratefully.

He would’ve liked to go with her, but going alone doesn’t sound too bad either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i spent an embarrassing amount of time on the harry potter wiki while writing this


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know students from diff houses aren't allowed into other houses but just roll with it okay??!?!?
> 
> also jae is super super smart you can't change my mind

  1. **healer**



There’s a chorus of gasps as Jae walks into the Courtyard, clothing tattered, face bruised up. His lip is bleeding where it’s split, and he’s got a black eye.

There are brown stains on his hoodie which Chiara hopes aren’t blood, but judging from the way Jae is limping, it must be. She’s at his side in an instant, glancing around at the people staring at him.

“What happened?”

Jae tries to laugh it off, but all that comes out of his mouth is a painful wheezing sound. “Not to worry,” he tells her, which makes her worry even more, “you should’ve seen the other guy,” he jokes.

Two second-years inch away from the two of them, game of gobstones completely forgotten.

“Got into a nasty duel with Diego.” He loudly tells the courtyard. “Don’t worry. I won.” He flashes the crowd a winning smile before wincing, gingerly touching his bleeding lip.

“Come on,” Chiara ushers him away from prying eyes, “let’s go see Madam Pomfrey.”

Jae goes rigid and refuses to move another step. “Can’t do that.”

Chiara gives him the most exasperated look she can muster. “What do you mean? Jae, you’re hurt.” He shakes his head and Chiara cannot believe how hellishly stubborn he is.

“Nothing _episkey_ can’t fix.” He tells her, but Chiara grabs him firmly by the shoulders and starts steering him towards the hospital wing. Jae digs his heels into the ground and Chiara is forced to stop. “Seriously, Chiara. I can’t go there.” When Chiara waits for further explanation, he sighs. “I don’t want Madam Pomfrey questioning me.”

Whenever Jae gets into trouble, the professors force him to take Veritaserum to make sure he tells them everything. Needless to say, Jae has found multiple loopholes by not getting caught when making trouble.

Chiara wavers for a second, before changing their course. A few minutes later, they arrive outside the Hufflepuff common room, and Jae gives her a bewildered look.

She knocks the password and pokes her head in, making sure no one is sitting in the common room before making a beeline for her dorm. Thankfully, Penny isn’t around. She’s sure Penny could keep a secret, but she doesn’t want to explain why Jae is in the Hufflepuff room. Especially when it’s against the rules.

Then she pulls out her books about healing and forces Jae to sit down. He’s bleeding on her sheets, but she can clean that up later.

He winces when she starts cleaning his wounds while forcing him to hold conjured ice to his cheek. There’s silence as she works before Jae breaks it. “Where’d you learn to do this?”

Chiara glances at him briefly before bandaging his arm. “I spend a lot of time with Madam Pomfrey.” Then, more quietly, because this is the first time she’s ever voiced it out loud, “I’m thinking of being a healer.”

There’s a flicker of surprise in Jae’s eyes before it disappears. “Huh.” He says, getting distracted again when Chiara digs a splinter out of his hand.

“I think it suits you.” He says quietly after another silence.

Chiara looks at him, trying to remain serious but finding herself fighting a smile. “Really?”

“Sure. You could start being one now.” He grins at her.

Chiara finishes the last of her healing by murmuring _Episkey,_ and Jae visibly relaxes. “Don’t be silly, I need years of training for that.”

Jae shrugs and flexes his hand. The cut on his lip has sealed, but the bruising hasn’t completely faded. “Thanks for covering for me.”

Chiara gives him a tight smile before getting up. “Come on, you should leave before we get caught.”

Jae pouts but follows her towards the door. “You’re not going to kiss it better?”

Her face goes hot. “Get out,” she tells a snickering Jae, and pushes him away.

  1. **redo**



Jae is in the kitchen, trying, last minute, to adjust his tie. He’d wrangled with it for fifteen minutes before Ben had taken pity and helped him. He must look ridiculous in his dress robes—considering how sloppily he usually dresses—but he didn’t know how else to set the mood.

The house elves were very vocal about their approval when Jae had asked them how he looked. It wasn’t a fair question; they would’ve said he looked good in a potato sack.

“We have everything ready, sir!” A particularly enthusiastic house-elf chirps.

“Er, thanks.” Jae tells them, clearly distracted. He fidgets with his tie again before giving up on it completely. He wonders if Chiara will show up on time. She’s always been the more punctual between the two of them.

He doesn’t have to worry for long. Three minutes before their set meeting, Chiara pokes her head through the kitchen doors. “Jae?” comes her quiet voice.

The house elves all scuttle around, getting into position. “Welcome, Ms. Lobosca!” They chorus, and Jae watches as Chiara’s eyes go wide, scanning over the decorations, the food, the floating candles, before settling on him.

“Did you do this?” She whispers in awe.

Jae sweeps his arms in what he hopes is a grand gesture, trying not to grin too wide. “Not all of it. The house elves definitely helped.”

She’s staring at him, a disbelieving smile on her face. “You—” her voice breaks off into a giggle, “you’re wearing such fancy clothes.” She walks over to him, looking overhead at the kitchen lights before adjusting his tie. “What’s all this for?”

Jae shrugs, trying to stay cool. “You missed the Celestial Ball. I thought you might want a do-over.” He starts sweating when Chiara doesn’t respond, just gives him a look he can’t decipher so he starts rambling. “I couldn’t quite get the _celestial_ part, and the candles are a poor substitute—”

He’s abruptly cut off when Chiara throws her arms around his neck and squeezes tight. She has to stand on her toes: a fact that Jae is very smug about. He’d been shorter than her up until the end of fourth year, something she’d teased him mercilessly about.

He hugs her back for a long minute before he notices the house elves staring at them and pulls back.

“Sorry,” she laughs, and Jae realizes that she’s getting teary, “sorry. I just—this is _so much_.”

“In a bad way?” He asks carefully.

Chiara snorts. “No! In a good way. I’m just acting this way because I like it _too_ much.” She gives him an endearing, watery smile, overflowing with affection. “Really. Thank you, Jae.” She says quietly, holding his gaze for a minute before looking at the floor.

The silence is comfortable as the house elves go back to bustling around them, and Jae does what he’s been preparing all night for.

He extends a hand, pulling his mouth into what he hopes is a charming, but probably nervous, smile. “Care to dance?” Chiara beams at him before slipping her hand into his.

Jae’s taken ballroom classes before and his technique isn’t too shabby. Chiara is a little clumsier, and she steps on his toes occasionally, muttering sorry each time.

Jae doesn’t even notice. He’s too focused on her smile.

  1. **owls**



Jae is asleep when Chiara finds him in the courtyard. He’s hunched over an unopened book, sleeping as a group of second years whisper quietly next to him, probably too scared to disturb him.

The idea seems absurd to Chiara who’s known him for years, but she remembers being intimidated by Jae when they were _both_ first years and decides they may have a point.

He hardly looks scary right now, though. He’s drooling a little with one arm over his eyes, the other dangling over the fountain edge. It’s a cool, cloudy day and he’s wearing his hoodie; the sleeves have started to fray. Chiara had mentioned to him once that he could repair it quickly with _reparo,_ but he’d shrugged and told her it was ‘a look’, whatever that meant.

She doesn’t want to wake him so she sits down next to him and pulls out her books. They have their O.W.Ls soon, and Chiara has to do well in all of her classes to even think about being a healer. She’s doing fine with most of her subjects but she’s struggling with defense against dark arts.

Her, Penny and even Tonks have spent countless hours in the library studying. They’ve formed their own study group, and everyone is welcome to join. Despite the open invitation, Jae never shows up, although that’s probably because he’s allergic to the library. Rowan prefers to study on their own but they occasionally help everyone with their studies. Even the less studious students have taken to joining them sometimes.

Jae, on the other hand, hasn’t even touched his quill. Chiara hasn’t seen him open a single book and she’s starting to worry for him when he doesn’t even seem fazed.

An hour goes by and Jae is _still_ sleeping. Chiara knows how much he loves to, but he should really wake up. At this rate, Chiara’s worried that he might not even pass his exams and have to do them over.

“Jae.” She hisses, nudging him. He doesn’t even stir. “Jae.” She goes again, louder this time. Still no reaction. “ _Jae_.” She says louder than she intends to, startling a passing Slytherin.

Finally, he moves, muttering something unintelligible.

“Wake up.” Chiara says. When he makes no move to do so, she sighs. “It’s time for dinner.”

Almost immediately, he’s sitting up. “It is?” He asks, eyes bright and alert. She’d never be able to tell he was just asleep, save for the tuft of hair sticking up on his head.

“No,” she rolls her eyes, “it’s time for you to study.”

Jae groans and starts to lie back down, arm already back over his eyes.

“Jae,” Chiara scolds, “O.W.Ls are coming up soon. You don’t need to get outstanding’s, but you should at least aim for _acceptable’s_.” Then tentatively, she adds, “you’d have to be a genius to pass without studying.”

Jae gets decent grades without studying, Chiara knows, but this is their future. He lets out an even louder and exasperated groan when she tells him so.

“Please, Jae?” She pleads, and he removes his arm to blink up at her, “at least read something?” She adds hopefully.

He looks very pained for a minute before he flips over and opens his herbology textbook. Chiara grins at him before turning back to her own studies. She checks on him occasionally the first few minutes, but then she gets particularly absorbed in a passage about the side effects of shrinking potion and stops paying attention to him.

She looks up when she hears snoring and suppresses a loud sigh when she sees Jae sprawled over his textbook, sleeping again.

* * *

Jae hardly studies over the next few days. At least, Chiara never sees him doing it. Aside from helping her with defense against dark arts, he doesn’t even touch a textbook. He doesn’t seem stressed at all before walking into any of his exams, and comes out yawning after most of them.

Chiara catches him napping during their potions written exam and has to nudge him awake when Snape isn’t looking.

When they receive their scores, she’s thrilled to see she got three exceeds expectations, two outstandings and two acceptables. She looks over to Jae, ready to share the good news.

Jae opens his envelope, skims the paper, then promptly refolds it and lays his head in his arms. Chiara hovers next to him, uncertain of what to do, before he slides the paper over to her, head still buried in his arms.

Chiara unfolds it, preparing for the worst but hoping for the best, and is pleasantly surprised. Actually, surprised doesn’t seem the right word, shocked is more fitting.

Jae has two exceeds expectations, four acceptables, and one outstanding in defense against dark arts.

“Jae,” Chiara murmurs, in awe, “you did really well.” She’d thought he was smart before, but this really just blew everything out of the water.

Jae just grunts, and a few seconds later, he’s snoring.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> year six, aka JAM CITY CAN ROT  
> also ao3 is being annoying also I am incompetent so the formatting is weird

**1\. amortentia**

Charlie always asks Jae where he manages to keep all his illegal items, but Jae never gets around to telling him. Charlie’s a prefect, anyhow, and it would be cool to corrupt him, but Jae doesn’t want to bother.

Chiara knows, however, because whenever Jae isn’t around to give her the wolfsbane she needs, she can get it herself. She never had explained why she needed it so urgently and so frequently, but Jae suspects. He’s not stupid, although sometimes other people act like he’s not very bright. He knows Chiara will trust him on her own time, and he doesn’t want to push her into anything.

He’s organizing his things, preparing for another order from a customer. They needed amortentia this time around, and as much as Jae hates potions, he hates losing money even more. Besides, he’s built up a rapport with his customers of being efficient and always delivering. He doesn’t want to ruin it now.

Amortentia is a difficult potion to brew, so he calls Penny to help him out. They’re not particularly close, but they are comfortable around each other. Sometimes Jae helps her get ingredients she can’t get from Snape.

She’d scrunched her nose when he’d told her about making amortentia, seemingly disapproving. 

_Are you giving it to anyone?_ She’d asked.

Jae had shrugged and hadn’t thought much about the abject horror in her eyes. _No, it’s for a client_.

He doesn’t like telling other people about his clients or the orders they make, but he should’ve known Penny would tell Chiara, because she comes to find him not too soon after, looking upset.

“What’re you making amortentia for?” She asks.

Jae is bewildered by her interest—she usually doesn’t meddle with his business—before going back to bottling the liquid into heart shaped bottles. “Figured I could make a profit off of them. One of the students wanted some.”

He expects Chiara to nod and leave, but she stands there and stares at him. “Don’t you think there’s anything wrong with that?” She demands, voice clipped with anger.

Jae looks up at her, taken aback by her indignance. She disapproves of his more dangerous clients, but she’s never been angry with him. “I’m just doing what they asked.” He attempts at an explanation. “If you haven’t noticed, most of the stuff I do breaks the rules.”

She lets out an angry sigh. “Not _that_ , Jae. I mean making someone fall in love outside of their will.”

“Oh.” He shrugs. “It’s not really out of their will, is it? If they’re in love with someone it isn’t a problem.”

“Yes, but—” Chiara starts again, but Jae grows impatient and sticks a bottle of the potion under a nose.

She jerks back, sucking in a breath.

“Come on, it’s not that bad. Besides, doesn’t it smell nice?”

She gives him a resigned look, backing away. 

He prattles on, ignoring the pained look she gives him. “It’s supposed to smell like whoever you’re in love with.” He brings it to his nose and sniffs, scrunching it when an earthy smell fills his lungs. It smells vaguely like the Forbidden Forest in a familiar way, exactly what he thought it’d be like.

He glances at Chiara, suddenly seeing her point. He doesn’t know what’d it be like if someone forced her to fall in love with someone else.

Frankly, he doesn’t know who she likes, and he’s not very keen on finding out. He doesn’t like being disappointed.

Chiara’s still looking at him, worrying her lip. “I’m late for class.” She says, all the anger suddenly gone. She turns around without a goodbye and Jae watches her go, wondering why things became awkward.

He sits down and goes back to bottling. Maybe she was just tired.

**2\. trouble**

A faint boom comes from the Gryffindor common room when Chiara approaches. She gives the portrait an inquisitive look, and the fat lady just shrugs.

She doesn’t need to stay curious for long because Ben comes rushing out, hair sticking up in four different directions.

He doesn’t see her and hurries for the staircase, but Chiara stops him. “Ben! What’s going on?”

Ben jerks back and looks toward the portrait hole nervously. “I hate first years.” He says quickly, a jumble of words, and rushes off without further explanation.

Chiara turns to see a disheveled Jae climbing through the portrait hole, hair wildly unkempt, shaking with laughter. 

“Ben!” He calls after the running figure, “come back!” He grins when he catches sight of Chiara. “Hey.” 

“What were you doing?” She asks, confused.

Jae opens his mouth to say something, but then two identical heads are pushing their way out of the portrait hole next him. They’re first years, from the look of it, and Chiara vaguely remembers seeing them during the sorting.

“Hello,” they chorus in a slightly creepy way, “we’re Fred and George.”

They step out.

“I’m Fred,” says Fred.

“I’m George,” says George.

“Er, hello.” Chiara greets. Jae comes to stand next to her. “I’m Chiara.” She’s about to shake Fred’s hand before Jae pulls her back

“Sorry,” Jae throws his arm over Chiara’s shoulders and pulls her up against him, “no pranks for this one,” he winks at her, “she’s off limits.” 

Chiara feels a chill go down her spine when the wicked gleam in George’s eyes fades.

“Oh.” Fred sounds disappointed, which is not very comforting.

“But hey, you guys are going to love Tulip.” Jae tells them, and the mischievous look in their eyes return. “Come on, she’s probably in the courtyard.”

Chiara has no idea what they’re up to, but she knows Jae well enough not to ask. “Tonks is there too,” she adds helpfully, and the twins rush down the stairs, hollering.

Jae steers them both after them, his arm still around her. It’s uncharacteristically affectionate of him (he’s never been keen on physical contact). She smiles to herself and doesn’t comment on it.

****3\. absence** **

The forest is hushed, quiet, as if waiting for something that Jae can’t pinpoint. He’s not fond of visiting the Forbidden Forest. However, it needs to be done to acquire objects for his more difficult clients.

He’s gotten stuck in some tight spaces before, come out injured, and once, had thought he wasn’t going to make it out alive. He’s lucky that he has quick reflexes and a quicker tongue. Once or twice, he doesn’t think he’d have made it out without his wand.

An acromantula had come after him on multiple occasions because he’d tread too far. He’s more experienced now, and knows not to cross certain borders.

The acromantula don’t travel very far from their den, and Jae is far from their base. Still, he’s wary as he pulls out his wand and glances around. He never knows what other things are hiding. A twig snaps to his right, and his gaze flits towards an innocent looking bush.

It’s not dark yet but it will be soon. Still, Jae doesn’t want to use _Lumos_ in case it draws too much attention to himself. He stops moving to assess the area before continuing. The sleeve of his hoodie snags on a protruding branch and he wrestles himself out of it, scowling. He’ll have it repair before the professors think he’s up to anything suspicious. He doesn’t need more detention.

The client had wanted to remain unnamed, so Jae hadn’t pried. They needed moly, a distinct looking kind of flower which unfortunately for him, only grew in the Forbidden Forest. Jae prides himself on being efficient and effective. He gets paid generously for the trouble he goes through, but it doesn’t mean he has to like all of the jobs he’s offered.

Finally, he finds the patch of flowers the client had described and stoops over to get a good look at them. The sky is dark now, and Jae can hardly see anything.

He’d slipped out of school after flying. He’s sure people won’t notice his absence; he plans on being back before curfew.

Discreetly, he starts unearthing the flowers, stilling when he hears another twig snap. He wraps his hand around his wand and slowly looks over his shoulder.

There’s nothing there.

Letting out a soft exhale he resumes digging until he has a good amount. The client hadn’t specified how much, but Jae still wanted to be careful.

He should leave now. The woods are dark and he’ll need light to find his way. It’ll undoubtedly catch any wandering creature’s attention, and Jae doesn’t want to risk the danger. He catches himself thinking about Chiara, and wonders if he should get some for her. 

She’d definitely appreciate the healing characteristics of the moly, considering how she wants to be a healer.

Two more minutes can’t hurt, he tells himself, before he kneels down and starts digging again. He gets the rest of the moly easily enough and he’s stuffing them in his robes before starting back. The woods are eerily quiet.

Jae pulls out his wand and whispers ‘ _lumos_ ’. He starts walking before his eyes can adjust, and he’s almost to the edge of the forest when he hears something much louder sound to his left.

He whips around fast enough to see a red-cloaked figure standing a few feet away. He points his wand at them, shouting “ _petrificus total—”_ but is cut off by a flash of light and an unfamiliar voice going “ _sectumsempra!”_

Jae has enough time to think _shit_ as he flies back into a tree and goes unconscious.

****4\. secrets** **

Chiara bursts through the Hospital Wing doors, nearly knocking over a stunned Ravenclaw student who didn’t see her coming.

“Miss Lobosca! You’re disturbing the students—” Madam Pomfrey exclaims, but Chiara hardly hears her.

“Is Jae alright?” She asks frantically, looking around for him. “Is he here?”

Madam Pomfrey purses her lips and stands in front of her, blocking her view. “He needs rest, miss Lobosca. It would do you better to come another time—”

Chiara catches sight of his familiar yellow hoodie and she pushes past Madam Pomfrey, manners completely forgotten. “ _Jae!_ ” She cries.

He raises a hand in greeting as she rushes over to him and barrels into his arms.

She’s hugging him, face buried in the fabric of his hoodie, _he’s alright,_ repeating over and over in her head.

“Chiara,” comes a muffled voice, “’r crshing mr.” 

Chiara loosens her grip and backs away to see a frazzled Jae and an angry Madam Pomfrey. 

“Mr. Kim needs _his rest,_ you can return when he’s feeling better—”

“I’m feeling better already,” Jae interjects, “now that Chiara’s here.” He looks imploringly at Madam Pomfrey who seems increasingly frustrated at being continuously cut off.

Chiara takes Jae’s hand in hers, warm and comforting. She knows how important rest is, but right now she can’t stand the thought of leaving. She’d gone cold with fear when Penny had told her Jae had been injured and was in the Hospital Wing. 

Apparently, he’d gotten hurt in the Forbidden forest. Ben had told McGonagall he hadn’t returned to their dorm that night and had been missing for a good portion of his classes. The professors had found him unconscious, lying in a pool of blood, two days ago, but Chiara hadn’t been present because of the changing.

Madam Pomfrey’s resolve seems to crumble when she sees their intertwined hands.

“Please,” Chiara pleads, “just five minutes.”

She thinks she’ll be forced to leave when Madam Pomfrey’s eyes go hard, but she just sighs and acquiesces. “You have two.” She says firmly, then turns to watch the other patients.

Jae is still holding her hand, grinning at their small victory, and Chiara makes no move to separate them. “You can sit down.” He tells her, making space so they can share the cot.

Chiara does so, and just stares at him for a minute, taking it in that he’s alive. “What happened?” She asks.

Jae rolls his eyes dramatically. “Please, Chiara, I’ve had enough of being interrogated these past few days.”

She bites her lip, frustrated, but doesn’t question him anything further. “I was so scared.” She whispers, and Jae stops smiling.

Before she can stop it, her throat closes up and her eyesight starts to blur. Chiara digs her nails into her palm because she refuses to cry, she’s not even the one who got hurt.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Jae says. Chiara forces a shaky breath, focusing on squeezing Jae’s hand to keep herself from crying. “Besides,” he lifts up his shirt, “I got this wicked scar.”

She blinks back her tears to look at the red gash running from his hip to the middle of his ribcage. She’s holding his hand so tight she’s sure it must hurt. “What were you thinking?” 

She doesn’t let him answer because there’s something else she needs to do. Jae’s her best friend, and her heart stutters at the thought of him dying before she can tell him her biggest secret. She wants to tell him, but she’s also scared how he’ll react.

“Jae,” she starts, voice wavering. “I have to tell you something.”

He goes quiet, waiting. 

Chiara’s heart is beating sporadically in her chest, shoulders heavy from a burden she’s carried for years. Jae is accepting and kind, she knows he won’t judge her, but that doesn’t mean their relationship will change. 

She looks him in the eyes—breathes—and tells him. “I’m a werewolf.” Her voice breaks halfway, and she feels Jae’s hand go slack in hers. His eyes go wide with surprise and Chiara’s vision clouds.

Chiara is going to cry if she talks, but she does anyways because she needs to _know_. “Will you—” the first tear falls, “will you still be my friend?” She can’t look him in the eye, and at his silence, starts to retract her hand—

—but Jae tightens his grip and she looks up at him again.

“Chiara,” his voice is warm, accepting, “I never planned on stopping.”

She sucks in a breath, registering the words, before she’s crying openly: fat, ugly tears streaming down her face. Jae wraps his arm around her and she grips him back, sobbing into his hoodie. 

Madam Pomfrey lets them stay that way long past two minutes, and even longer past curfew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRUE LOVE CONQUERS ALL  
> ALL INCLUDES LYCANTHROPY

**Author's Note:**

> god jamcity is really out here giving us the bare minimum content for these two
> 
> well that isn"T GOING TO STOP ME


End file.
